Sequenza21/The Contemporary Classical Music Weekly

Friday, February 11, 2005

The London Symphony (1904-2004) - The Centennial Set

Andante

Last year was the 100th anniverary of the founding of the London Symphony Orchestra which was born in 1904 as the UK’s first orchestra governed and managed by the players themselves.

In a city where five major orchestras compete for fans and funds, the LSO is the current undisputed heavyweight champ, drawing big name conductors, adoring audiences and critical praise—much to the consternation of its rivals.

The story of the LSO’s long battle for survival and current acendancy is told in a recently published history, The LSO: A Century of Triumph and Turbulence, by Richard Morrison, a London critic.

As Morrison tells the tale, there was only one symphonic orchestra in London in 1904, the Queen's Hall Orchestra, directed by Henry Wood, the musical mind behind 'Mr Robert Newman's Promenade Concerts,' as the Proms were then known. Wood didn’t pay all that well and musicians would frequently rehearse with him but send unrehearsed deputies on the night of the concert because they had accepted better paying gigs with hotel or music hall bands.

When Wood tried to end this practice, his players revolted, and set up the London Symphony as what they called "something akin to a musical republic." Dedicated to maintaining the players' freedom to come and go, it was to be a self-governing, profit-sharing collective.

Under Hans Richter and then Edward Elgar, the orchestra prospered for a decade but ran into serious trouble by the late 1920s, managed to survive the arrival the BBC and World War II only to nearly die in the 1950s before a young, hip, mediagenic conductor named André Previn made it the hip ticket in London again. Under Previn, the LSO’s recording contracts and film work multipled and a huge middle-market was developed.

Over the past 20 years, the LSO has flourished under good management and entered its second century in better shape than ever. To mark the occasion, Andante has issued The London Symphony (1904-2004) - The Centennial Set, a box of four-CDs that brings together many of the great performances and conductors who have been part of the LSO’s long and distinguished history. The earliest performance is Weber’s Oberon Overture, led by Arthur Nikisch from 1914; the latest a 1999 performance of the Benvenuto Cellini overture led by Sir Colin Davis. Most of the great conductors and guest conductors in between are represented, including Bruno Walter, Claudio Abbado, Sir Hamilton Harty, Michael Tilson Thomas, István Kertész, Previn, Josef Krips, Georg Solti, and Pierre Monteux. The historical performances have all been digitally remastered and are surprisingly crisp. There is also a splendid booklet with some vintage photographs and first-hand accounts of performances by LSO musicians. Highly recommended.

posted by Jerry Bowles 12:06 AM